Stage 4 - October 5: Château d'Havré - Tournai, 133 km

Escapers share the glory

Rosseler takes stage while Flecha wins overall

Sébastien Rosseler added another win for the Quick Step team at the Circuit Franco-Belge when he beat his escape companion Juan Antonio Flecha (Rabobank) in horrible conditions for the race's final stage in Tournai. Flecha was not unhappy with second, as he had gained enough time to win the overall title.

The riders had to fight the elements for another time, with cold rain being prevalent all day. The organisers shortened the final stage by two finishing laps or around 30 kilometres. It was appreciated by the day's winner. "The weather today was absolutely awful!" Rosseler said.

Rosseler raced very actively in the final part of the race and explained his tactics. "During the final I made my attack, taking seven other riders along with me. On the final Côte about 15 kilometres from the finish line I decided to up the pace. The bunch was gaining time and catching up with our small group. I didn't want them to catch up with me, without attempting another attack."

He found a very good companion on the final run-in to the line. "Flecha was the only rider that resisted my attack. He was thinking of the general classification, so we both worked together up to the finish."

Rosseler often has to put his own ambitions down for the team, so the win was special. "I am really pleased with this victory. It was a great feeling holding my hands high up in the air crossing the finish line in first place."

Flecha made the decisive move with a potential overall win on his mind. He was happy to finally deliver for Rabobank. "I am so happy to finally win a race for my team." Flecha explained that he wasn't always so fortunate the past few years. "It is my third season for this team but, despite good results, I have never won a race for them." The last victory for Juan Antonio Flecha was a stage in the Vuelta Valenciana, in 2005.

To win, Flecha had to do what he does best. "To win the general classification, I knew I had to attack, to surprise the sprinters." He felt he had the form. "I knew I was in good condition since the Vuelta. I expected to go to the World Championship of Varese but I was not taken in the Spanish selection. It was a disappointment for me. But I managed to focus on other goals: the Franco-Belge, but also Paris-Tours."

Rosseler finished second in GC.

Boonen Falls

Rosseler's teammate Tom Boonen fell about 75 kilometres into the race – luckily he fell onto the grass on the side of the road. Howeer, Boonen hurt his right wrist and will have his wrist X-rayed tomorrow to check for fractures.

After three stages of miserable weather, the sun continued to elude riders on the final stage of the Circuit Franco-Belge. High winds joined sometimes heavy rain to cause havoc for the riders. As a result, only 51 riders finished the stage.

Mathieu Ladagnous (Française des Jeux), David Deroo (Skil-Shimano), Adrian Palomares Villaplana (Contentpolis - Murcia), Casper Jorgensen (Team GLS - Pakke Shop) and Paul Sneeboer (Netherlands National Team) made up the first break of the day. They gained more than a minute on the peloton before being pulled back in as the rain began to fall.

The Rabobank team split the peloton while making the chase, and formed a group of 26 riders at the head of the field. Most of the contenders for the overall were present, including Sébastien Rosseler (Quick Step), Jürgen Roelandts (Silence - Lotto), Juan Antonio Flecha (Rabobank), Philippe Gilbert (Française des Jeux) and Tyler Farrar (Team Garmin-Chipotle p/b H30).

Decisive splits

At kilometre 95, Maxime Monfort (Cofidis) attacked out of the front group. At the same time, the peloton behind split in two. The second part soon lost interest in chasing and quickly was down almost three minutes.

Under the work of Roelandts the efforts by the front group were neutralised, with about 20 kilometres to go. The next group that went included Rosseler and Flecha again, along with Mickaël Delage (Française des Jeux), Lars Bak (Team CSC-Saxo Bank), Koen De Kort (Astana), Stijn Vandenbergh (AG2R La Mondiale)and Matthé Pronk (Cycle Collstrop). They quickly gained 40 seconds over the bunch.

The Cofidis team then took up the work, and reduced the gap to 28 seconds with eight kilometres from the line. The gap continued to decrease and was down to 16 seconds, with about six kilometres to go. Philippe Gilbert (Française des Jeux) then countered and caught up with the front group.

Rosseler and Flecha, who had done most of the work, stormed away from the others. Gilbert desperately tried to hang on, but his gap started to grow. Two kilometres from the line, the two leaders had 26 seconds on Gilbert, who was about 100 metres ahead of the peloton. The gap was sufficient for Rosseler and Flecha to reach their respective goals, while Gilbert was caught. Wouter Weylandt won the sprint for third.